South Africa Lifts Ban on Elephant Culling
Feb 26, 2008 - www.awf.org
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South Africa announced it will lift its 1995 ban on elephant culling to manage its burgeoning elephant populations. Since the ban was imposed, the elephant population in Kruger National Park is estimated to have grown from 8,000 to 12,500, and is said to be hurting the park’s biodiversity.
Culling would be allowed as a tool “of last resort,” according to South Africa’s Environment Minister, who announced the policy on February 25.
AWF strongly believes that combining parks, private lands and community areas into large conservation and tourism landscapes is the best way to manage elephant populations and other wildlife. In southern Africa, AWF has pursued such a strategy by supporting full implementation of the larger Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which would allow elephants and other wildlife to spread out into the parts of Mozambique and Zimbabwe adjoining South Africa.
The Limpopo Transfrontier Park, formed in 2002, connects South Africa's Kruger National Park, Mozambique's Limpopo Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park into the largest single conservation area in Africa. Through our work in other parts of Africa, such as AWF's Zambezi Heartland, we have found that transboundary aerial surveys, on-the-ground tracking, and policy workshops can assist governments in harmonizing their plans for managing elephants that routinely cross their borders.
Among experts, culling is viewed as heartbreaking, dangerous, and very expensive, and is only considered regretfully as a last option when the long term well-being of elephants and other wildlife is at risk. Accordingly, AWF believes that local wildlife authorities are in the best position to decide whether the highly undesirable option of culling should be used as a last option.
AWF welcomes the public debate that will follow South Africa’s decision and urges our supporters to join us as we work to enhance wildlife conservation in the Limpopo Heartland.
